


Maximus Giganticus

by SkyPiglet



Series: 100% AmberField Fluff [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mild Angst, amberfield, pure Amberfield, sugary fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29419698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyPiglet/pseuds/SkyPiglet
Summary: Rachel discovers that Max is a tiny bit taller than her. Cuteness ensues.Lots of AmberField fluff, some steamy parts (nothing explicit), and a splash of angst in one scene.I wanted more of my favorite rarepair, so I wrote it! This is a continuation from "If You Give a Max a Muffin", but reading that is not required.
Relationships: Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield
Series: 100% AmberField Fluff [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161197
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	Maximus Giganticus

_♫_ _Luna Shadows – practice_ _♫_

“Max,” Rachel asks, “could you grab the baking powder for me? Over there.” Rachel points to her right, her other hand busy sifting flour into a mixing bowl.

“Okay.”

If Max stands on her tiptoes, she can just about reach the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet.

“Wait a minute,” Rachel says, “are you taller than me?”

“What?” Max replies, bringing the jar of baking powder over. “I thought we were the same height.”

“Me too! But you got that so easily.”

“All I did was stand on my tiptoes.”

Rachel places the bowl on the counter and turns to face her, smiling. She sets her palm flat across the top of her head, then slides it over to Max’s.

"Looks like you’re taller than me,” Max says.

"That’s because you always slouch so much, you dork.” Rachel reaches around, sliding her hand up the small of Max’s back. “Stand up straight for me?”

"O…kay,” Max replies, a little breathless.

Rachel repeats the previous experiment.

“Oh my gosh, it’s true,” she gasps, “You really _are_ taller!”

"No way, you’re totally the tall one in this relationship. You must have cheated and moved your hand up!”

"Wait, wait, I know how to settle this.”

Rachel darts out of the kitchen and heads upstairs to her room, returning a moment later with a tape measure.

“Come closer?” Rachel pulls Max in until their eyes cross. She drops one end of the tape measure, keeping it taut between the bottom of her foot and her hand.

“Okay,” Rachel says, using her finger to draw a line from her head to the tape measure, “I have five foot five exactly. What about you?”

“Uhh,” Max replies, doing the same with her own hand, “166 centimeters?”

“Shit, I forgot the other side’s in metric. What is that in inches?”

Max pulls out her phone, typing away for the answer. “Let’s see….five foot five is 65 inches, and 166 centimeters to inches is….65.35.”

Rachel squeals. “I WAS RIGHT.”

“That’s barely anything though.”

"No way! That’s _everything_ , Max. You’re officially the tall one now.”

Max giggles. “You’re so weird sometimes, Rachel.”

“You love it though.”

“I do.”

Rachel drops the tape measure, touching her nose to Max’s now that nothing remains between them. A month has passed since they started dating, but she never gets tired of looking at her. And at this distance, she can’t help but want to get even closer. She nuzzles Max’s cheek, hands pulling her in.

“Mrow…” Rachel purrs. Max sucks in a gasp as Rachel works her way lower, kissing her cheek, then neck, then collarbone. “Good thing I like taller girls…”

“Ra— Rachel…”

Rachel pulls away with a teasing smirk, skipping back to the kitchen counter. “Come on, Maxie! We still have muffins to make.”

“Dog, you’re such a tease, Rach.”

“Maybe you should try it sometime. I bet you’d like it.”

* * *

“Chloe,” Rachel says from across the diner table, “You wont believe what we discovered the other day!”

"What,” Chloe replies, chomping down on a bite of pancake, “the clitoris?”

"Even better,” she manages through her blush, “we found out…”

Chloe raises an eyebrow, fork frozen in her hand. “…yeah?”

“We found out…”

“…yeah?”

“MAX IS TALLER THAN ME.”

Max plants her head on the table, hiding her face in her hoodie. “Oh my doggg Rachel, not this again.”

“It’s true though!” Rachel rubs circles in Max’s back.

“Ahr yew sherioush?” Chloe asks through a mouthful.

“Yeah!”

Chloe swallows her bite. “But I thought you two were like, the same height?”

“Oh no no no. Chloe, Chloe. _Listen_. Max is taller.” she lays her head against Max, clinging onto her. ”I mean, not right now, of course. But she is.”

“Okay…” Chloe says.

“By one centimeter.”

Chloe rubs her brow in frustration. “Godammit, you all are too fucking cute.”

Rachel beams.

"I’ve gotta tell Kate about this,” Chloe smirks.

“Just kill me right now,” Max mutters from her cocoon. “Dump my coffee on my head or something.”

“Aren’t tall girls just the cutest?” Rachel says.

“Yeah,” Chloe replies, “I agree with you on that.”

Max groans, sinking further into the booth.

* * *

“Maxie,” Rachel croons in the flower shop, “could you grab that succulent? It’s a little too high for me.” She points at a froggy, lime green blob in a quarter-sized pot.

Max rolls her eyes. “Alright…”

A week after that night in the Amber household kitchen, Rachel keeps insisting that Max play the role of dashing knight to her helpless maiden. What started as a joke, however, has morphed into something comfortable, and every time Max fills one of her requests, a little buzz of affection flickers in Rachel’s chest. Rachel loves playing a larger-than-life role on stage and in front of others, but having a big, strong girlfriend take that position for her feels…exciting, in a different way.

Max stands on her tiptoes, stretching her arm as she strains to reach the shelf. “I don’t know if I can get this one, Rachel.”

“I believe in you, Max!”

Max hops up and down, hoping to graze the plant with her fingers, and as she reaches, her shirt hikes up, exposing the soft pink of her belly. Lit by the midday sun, Rachel catches a glimpse of the tiny, almost invisible hairs glowing across that sacred expanse of skin. The sight alone is enough to render her breathless.

She can’t resist the temptation.

“Sorry Max,” Rachel apologizes, “you just look so yummy here.” She darts her hands in to tickle Max’s stomach. Max spasms at the touch, letting out a doe cry, and collapses into Rachel’s arms, squirming with laughter.

“Rachel, stop—”

During the struggle, Max’s hand swings upwards, smacking the bottom of the shelf with a loud crack, and the clay planter tumbles onto the ground, shattering.

“Oh shit,” Max says.

“Oh my gosh!” Rachel panics, palming Max’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Max. Is your hand okay?”

“It’s fine,” Max smiles at her. “It sounded worse than it felt.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” She holds Max tight, kissing the top of her forehead.

“The poor plant though…”

“It’ll live. Let’s find a new pot and take it home with us?”

* * *

_Home_ is where Max is.

The nights they spend apart, Rachel feels a constant lump in her throat, a pull in her entire body to just _be with her_. Rachel has known love before, but never like this, where being apart hurts to her bones, where falling asleep in her own bed back “home” feels so, so empty. That’s why, over the weeks, Max’s room has become Rachel’s, too.

Not that she’d confess how she feels. At least, not yet.

But the L word keeps tugging at her through every thought she thinks and word she speaks. _I love hanging my flannel here in the closet next to your dorky tshirts. I love the baby succulent we adopted together, sitting there on the windowsill. I love how your hands fit into mine . I love our steadily growing wall of polaroids together. I love how your mouth hangs open a little when you sleep. I love that my toothbrush sits next to yours in the shower caddy. I love when you wear my clothes and I wear yours. And I love thinking of you without clo—_

“Rachel?”

Rachel blinks out of her daydream. “Max?”

“You were lost in your own world for a moment there.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here now.”

“Are you okay? You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“I am. I’ve had a lot on my mind, but it’s all good things, I promise,” she winks from the couch.

Max looks away, trying to hide her flushed face. Even after a month, that still gets to her. “Alright. So…since we’re both finished with our homework, what should we do the rest of the night?”

“Hmm. Two truths and a lie?”

Max joins Rachel on the couch, laying her head against her girlfriend’s chest. “You really like that one, don’t you?”

“I like learning more about you,” Rachel replies, playing with Max’s hair. “You can be such a mystery sometimes.”

“Okay then. You first?”

“One, I want to kiss you. Two, I want to kiss you. And three, your face makes me gag. Ew.”

“Oh shoot, I wonder which one’s the lie?”

“Why don’t I show you?” Rachel tilts Max’s head back, leaning in for a long, slow kiss.

“Wowser,” Max gasps when they pull apart, “you’re really good at that.”

Rachel laughs. “I love when you say that. Your turn?”

“I think I need a second to catch my breath first.”

“Alright, Maxie.” Rachel wraps her arms around Max’s waist, letting out a satisfied hum.

“Okay, I think I’m ready. One, when I was little, I had dreams of being a cat, two, I love pineapple on pizza, and three, I hate being the tall one.”

Rachel’s heart sinks to her stomach. “Shit, Max, I’m so sorry. Have I been teasing you too much? Should I stop? I didn’t realize—”

“Oh no, that one’s the lie!”

“It is? But—”

Max flips over, towering over Rachel, looking down at her with hungry eyes. “I like being the tall one,” she teases, in a low growl that knocks all the air from Rachel’s lungs, “because that means I get to be on top.”

Max kisses her. Once, then twice, then she moves lower, nibbling. Rachel can’t help but moan, her back arching with pleasure, as Max’s lips pull at her neck. In that moment, every thought leaves her head, focused only on sensations. Max’s lips pursed against her skin. A teasing lick. Max’s eyes wide open, staring up with desire, as pure electricity shoots down Rachel’s spine, rising to the surface of her skin in goosebumps.

After what feels like a full minute, Max pulls away, admiring her work—a deep violet circle on Rachel’s neck.

“Whoa, Rach. You should see this.”

“Holy shit,” Rachel gasps, every muscle in her body limp from shock.

“Sorry,” Max says, back to her usual shy self, “too much?”

“Oh my god, no. That was…amazing.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since we made muffins last week. After all, you did say I should try it.”

“I guess that’s what I deserve after being—”

“—such a tease?” Max winks.

Rachel’s heart won’t slow down— not with that face right in front of her. In that moment, she wants to kiss every last freckle on Max’s cheeks, wants to bury her head in her sweet, apple blossom scented hair, wants to explore the lines of her hands, wants to touch every part of her, and fall asleep holding her every night. She wants to say—

“Max, I love you.”

Rachel’s chest is about to explode, but in a good way. “You feel like home,” she continues, “the kind of home I’ve always wanted. I know I can be myself with you— not Rachel Amber, the popular girl. Not Prospero or Ophelia or Lady Macbeth. Not the daughter of an asshole lawyer or the child of an addict. Not straight A’s or volunteer bullshit or the college track. Just me. Just Rachel, the girl who loves Max Caulfield.”

“I love you too, Rachel.”

For a moment, something dark crosses Max’s eyes, but the brightness returns soon after. “I feel stronger with you,” she says, ”like I can do anything, and I’ll be okay, because you’ll be there with me. When I’m with you, the world feels bigger, like it doesn’t have to be just me, my hoodie, and my tiny bubble. Like it doesn’t have to be so scary. When we’re together, I feel invincible.”

Max kisses her, crying now. “I love you, and I want to keep you for a long, long time.”

“Max,” Rachel says, crying also, “you’re perfect, and I love you. Whatever you’ve been through, I love you.”

Max nuzzles up to Rachel’s chest, clinging on like a koala bear. Rachel cradles her in her arms until they both stop sniffling.

“You okay, little one?” Rachel asks.

“Mhmm,” Max replies. “Better, now that you’re here.”

“I’ve always been here, Max. I’ve just been waiting for you.”

* * *

“I’m cold, Max,” Rachel mewls, as they climb the hill to the Arcadia Bay lighthouse.

“Really? It’s sixty five right now.”

“Mhmm. It’s the wind! Will you stand in front to block it? You know, since you’re the tall one?”

“Okay.” Max moves ahead, pulling Rachel by the hand, as they continue climbing. “You really like that extra centimeter, don’t you?”

“I do. It’s a whole third of an inch, it’s so cute. You’re so cute.”

Max stiffens a little. _Definitely blushing_. _So fucking cute._

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

Max puffs up like a bird, straightening her posture from her usual slouch, for the rest of the hike.

By the time they reach the top, the sun is already kissing the horizon. The sunset paints the world orange-red, the edges of Max’s hair tongues of flame, her normally bright eyes a deep blue, like the bottom of a lagoon.

“Wowser,” Rachel says.

Max giggles. “It’s catching.”

“I can’t help it. You’re more than just cute, Max. You’re hella beautiful.”

“Th— thank you.”

Rachel squeezes Max’s hand, and they sit down on the bench, enjoying the silence for a moment as they look out across The Bay.

“So, um,” Max says, “The photoshoot we had planned?”

“Actually, I have an idea,” Rachel says, excited. “You’re always the one taking pictures of me, but what if, this time, you’re the model? You are the tall one, after all.”

“I— are you—”

“—yes. Come on! If you’re going to take pictures of models, you should know how it feels on the other side. And I need more shots for our assignment anyway.”

“Well, if it’s for class…”

“For class. Yup.”

“…I guess that’s okay.”

“Can I keep a few for myself though?”

Max retrieves her camera from her messenger bag. “You’re really hard to say no to, you know that?”

“I do.”

Max hands the camera to Rachel, shaking her head. “Chloe was right, you _are_ trouble.”

“The good kind, I hope. Now come on,” Rachel stands, pulling Max up with her. “We’re wasting daylight.”

Over the next few minutes, Rachel poses Max for different shots— standing at the edge looking down, lying on the bench staring up at the sky, feeding acorns to a squirrel at a nearby tree, and the cutest little yawn she’s ever seen. Max hesitates at first, but with time, she leans into the role.

"Climb up on the bench,” Rachel says. “Then you’ll be extra tall!”

"As you wish,” Max says with a flourish and a bow. She scales the bench, putting one hand on her hip, the other flat above her eye, like a pirate surveying the horizon.

“You sure you’re not secretly a fellow thespian?” Rachel asks, snapping one last picture, then tucking her flannel pocket with the others.

“As far as I know! I might have been a pirate in a past life though.”

“God, you’d be such a cute Romeo,” Rachel says, sitting down on the bench. “And I could be your Juliet.”

“Without all the dying, though?” Max asks, sitting back down beside her.

“Mhmm. Or maybe the Sid to my Nancy. The Bonnie to my Clyde.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Max says, resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder. “You know what I like more, though?”

“Hmm?”

“Being the Max to your Rachel.”

“Ooh, you’re right. That’s way, way better. You could almost call it the role—”

“—of a lifetime?”

Rachel laughs, smiling. “Look at us, already finishing each other’s sentences. Come here, you.” She puts her arm around Max’s shoulder, pulling her in, as the sun dips below the horizon.

“Still cold?” Max asks.

“Not with you beside me.”


End file.
